Yishan, an overseas Chinese, is the cemetery of overseas Chinese in the Philippines. So far, no Chinese cemetery in the world is as luxurious and spectacular as the one built in the Philippines.
When I first arrived in Manila, I realized that the cemetery could also become a scenic spot. Visitors here can't wait to move in directly.
On various travel websites, the footnotes about overseas Chinese relying on mountains are: "There are few beautiful women in scenic spots, so I suggest you go and see them."
If you go to overseas Chinese Yishan by bus, you can enjoy the same distinguished experience as going home. Under the watchful eye of the security guard in white uniform, the railing at the door will slowly rise.
Now rows of houses are grouped together like villas. If you don't have the memorial arch of "Overseas Chinese Yishan" as soon as you enter the door, and occasionally you can see the paper money burned in front of the door, almost no one will believe that this is a cemetery.
This 300-acre cemetery is like a high-end residential community. I don't know. I thought I had strayed into Beverly Hills in the Philippines.
A man in Florida exclaimed when he first came, "Wow, is this a resort?" He opened Airbnb conveniently and wanted to stay the same day.
In stark contrast to the luxurious China cemetery, there is a slum separated by a wall, and the living environment of the living is worse than that of the dead.
The first impression of Filipino children in the community next door on China comes from this cemetery. He said, "The graves of China people are bigger than my apartment building."
"It takes twenty minutes to walk from one end of the cemetery to the other, and it only takes me five minutes to go upstairs."
Last time, a Filipino went to the cemetery to look for his dog in the morning and got lost. He didn't come out until dark, and the dog waited for him at home.
After I came out, I always advised my neighbors not to walk into that gate easily. A mountain, an overseas Chinese, is a big maze in the eyes of Filipinos.
The Chinese cemetery in the Philippines has given the outside world a new understanding of Chinese and cemeteries.
Because there is no gloomy feeling of conventional cemeteries here, only gardens, villas and pavilions are more like architectural museums, which are pleasing to the eye.
The cemetery in China, whether in Hongkong, Malaysia or Thailand, is built according to the traditional model of China, but it is completely different here.
Foreign tourists passing by took photos as a souvenir: "The Philippines has the most diverse architectural systems in the world, and it seems that they are all made in China."
Architectural styles all over the world are integrated into cemeteries, and some cemeteries can directly compete for the Pritzker Prize.
Yishan, a China native who came to the Philippines, realized that death can also represent some creative arts.
On the basis of traditional cemeteries, local China people released their imagination and created new ancestral graves. Traditional aesthetics, modernism aesthetics and futurism aesthetics are fully presented in the Chinese cemetery in the Philippines.
Walking along the mountain in the hometown of overseas Chinese, you can see the Soviet elements, stone lions and obelisks in the east side by side, which is even more wonderful than the window of the world in Shenzhen.
Some cemeteries hang some works and can hold art exhibitions directly.
This is not an exclusive Buddhist cemetery. People of different religions can buy the land here. It doesn't matter which religion they believed in before their death. Some are like churches, some are like Buddhist temples and some are Taoist temples.
Children who have seen the cartoon "Digital Baby" firmly believe that this is the sacred angel beast.
Filipinos don't object to the Chinese cemetery next door because it is so beautifully built.
Simple geometry outlines a coffin cemetery full of futuristic feeling.
No wonder the descendants of Chinese in the Philippines are developing well. It turns out that the ancestral graves are well built.
Some cemeteries not only use marble in appearance, but also are equipped with modern equipment suitable for normal life. In addition to the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, there are air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions and telephones. , even Wi-Fi. You won't feel scared when you come.
It is said that some descendants simply lived here for a long time and slept with their ancestors.
Powerful families even hire grave keepers to stay for a long time.
These grave keepers, like the real owners of this cemetery in Beverly Hills, enjoy the life in the Peach Blossom Garden here.
Wake up in the morning, push open the door, pour a cup of Tieguanyin, sit on the rattan chair at the gate of the cemetery and have tea, then start sweeping the floor to usher in a new day.
In addition to the grave keeper hired by the cemetery alone, there is also the security team of overseas Chinese Yishan.
There are several new buildings here every year. Lao Wang, a security guard, knows the baroque style best and can casually say the design concept of each cemetery.
Yishan, an overseas Chinese, is just like his hometown. He knows all kinds of cemeteries. Give him a pack of cigarettes and he can show you around some of the most luxurious cemeteries with his keys.
Every family has different tastes, the only thing that is the same is that they are all rich.
"This family is the descendant of Fang Zhuangjia, and they like postmodern style best."
Some have a special liking for the architectural style of the Soviet period, and the cemetery was built more correctly than that of Russia.
"This big boss came to the Philippines to study in Russia and has Soviet aesthetics."
A fundamentalist went to his hometown in Fujian and hired an expert to build a cemetery. The materials and styles are consistent with those of his hometown in Fujian. It is equivalent to moving the cemetery of Fujian's hometown to the Philippines.
Another family likes to eat taro from their hometown, and specially planted several taro plants in front of their cemetery, which were eaten by the security guards and grave keepers of the cemetery.
The environment is so beautiful that even homeless people in the Philippines want to live in it.
Because the cemetery inside is equipped with bedrooms and toilets, and some cemeteries are even equipped with televisions, which is 100 times cooler than slums. The homeless people around agree that this is much better than the resettlement house given by the government.
Take a bag, bring a towel, washbasin and toothbrush, steal an offering from future generations, sleep in the bedroom and bed provided by the cemetery, and live for one year.
Living in the overseas Chinese cemetery has become the talk of some homeless people. For them, entering the Chinese cemetery is equivalent to sleeping in hotels all over the world.
"I slept in the ancestral grave of a big supermarket owner."
Someone always wants to sneak in. They have all the facilities and don't have to pay rent. If found, at most, fired.
So, we need security. The daily task of security guards is to ride bicycles around and deal with homeless people.
Lao Wang, a security guard, said that it is much more comfortable to guard here than in a high-end residential area. The building is beautiful and pleasing to the eye, and the work is leisurely. Occasionally, descendants come to sacrifice, and you can practice your spoken Chinese by the way.
He can see his descendants and know where his ancestors are buried. Generous China people always give him something to relax, after all, they are guarding their ancestral graves.
When asked why the cemetery is so luxurious, the local Chinese said it was for reunion: "People come here every year, not only to worship their ancestors, but also to enjoy and enjoy family reunion."
Every year 1 1.2 is all souls' day in the Philippines. On this day, Yishan, an overseas Chinese, will be crowded with Chinese who come back from all over the world to mourn the dead. At that time, there will be trolleys selling food everywhere. It will be as lively as going to a carnival to sweep the grave.
Mencius said: "Birth is not a big deal, but death can be a big deal." The local overseas Chinese took life and death as life to the extreme.
/kloc-More than 0/00 years ago, Lin Wang, an overseas Chinese living in the Philippines, bought this piece of land covering an area of 300 mu at any cost to solve the burial problem of non-Catholics.
194 1 year, Japan occupied the Philippines, and Yang Guanghao, the former consul general in the Philippines, took it as his duty to protect overseas Chinese and was unwilling to evacuate them. In April of the following year, they were taken to Yishan, an overseas Chinese by the Japanese invaders, and all the librarians were killed at the same time. Overseas Chinese in the Philippines were outraged, and more than 140 underground organizations were established in succession to resist Japan.
Today, there is also a monument in the overseas Chinese Yishan cemetery to commemorate the overseas Chinese's fight against Japanese invaders in the Philippines during World War II.
China people have a tradition of returning leaves to their roots. Overseas Chinese in the Philippines attach great importance to geomantic omen and ancestral funerals. Unlike other houses in China, the cemetery faces south. All cemeteries here face the direction of the motherland, and the county boundary of their home will be written on the house number of the cemetery.
People in China are like this. Even if they go to South Asia to make a living, their hearts are still full of feelings of home and country.
They hope that the motherland will get better and better so that they can live a better life. They built a bridge between China and the Philippines, and this cemetery is a symbolic badge.
Overseas Chinese who made a fortune in Nanyang came back to support the construction of their hometown. Many schools and hospitals in southern China were aided by overseas Chinese.
An old Filipino overseas Chinese who helped build three schools in his hometown of China said that his favorite song is to watch it often when he goes home.